Last week, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Luisa Rocca (daughter of the famous Bruno Rocca), who was in the country to present her fathers wines.

Bruno Rocca is a winery run from vine to glass by the Rocca family. Bruno and his son are in charge of the vineyard and winemaking, while Luisa looks after the PR and promotion. The Rocca family are actively campaigning the Ministry of Agriculture in Italy to help improve the promotion of Barbaresco wines and help them become as famous as their neighbour, Barolo.

The Roccas grow Nebbiolo, Barbera and Bordeaux varietals in their 15 hectares of vineyard, which is spread between regions of Barbaresco, Neive & Treiso. We focused on their 2008 vintage Barbaresco during Luisa’s visit.

The grapes for this are grown predominantly in Neive, a small town around 3km east of Barbaresco. They limit the yields to around 35hl/ha, which helps give excellent depth to the wine. Maturation is 50% new French oak, 50% used French oak for 17 months, plus a further 12 months bottle age before release.

2008 Barbaresco, Bruno Rocca, Piedmont
“Ruby red with intense aromas of black and red cherries, hints of rose petals, sweet spice and red pepper and a touch of cocoa. Beautifully balanced with great structure. This is definitely approachable now, but will lay down for 8-10 years.”